Movie Star Colin No Stranger To Small Screen

Q. I rented the Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt movie The Devil's Own. The actress who played Ford's wife looked really familiar. Was she ever on a daytime drama? -- Suzanne, Rainelle, W.Va.

A. Margaret Colin played Ford's wife in The Devil's Own. Before making it big on prime-time TV and in the movies, Colin was one of soap opera's finest actresses. She performed in As the World Turns and Edge of Night. Colin played Margo on ATWT from 1981 to 1983. She portrayed Paige Madison on the now-defunct EON from 1979 to 1980. Independence Day, Three Men and a Baby and Something Wild are other major films in which she has had large roles. She also co-starred in the recently canceled CBS sci-fi series Now and Again.

Colin is married to Justin Deas (Buzz, Guiding Light). The two met while working together on ATWT. Deas played Tom Hughes on ATWT from 1981 to 1984.

Q. I heard One Life to Live finally cast Rae's old flame, Daniel. Who will be playing the role? -- Rebecca, Chicago

A. OLTL has cast Terrence Mann as Daniel Faulkner. Mann was last seen on daytime TV as Earl Boyd on All My Children. Mann has spent most of his acting career on the Broadway stage. He starred in the original Broadway casts of Assassins, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast and Cats. He also appeared in the film A Chorus Line.

Soap notes

Eden Riegel has joined AMC as Bianca, Erica's daughter. The actress appeared in the film American Pie.

Days of Our Lives reveals the answer to who fathered Hope's baby (John or Stefano) on Aug. 14. From May 29 until July 21, more than a quarter million votes came in. DOOL viewers cast their vote by logging onto www.nbc.com/ days.

General Hospital brings back Tammy, the former hooker with a heart of gold. Tamara Clatterback takes over the role on Tuesday. Clatterback was last seen on daytime as Alice Johnson, the woman who adopted Cassie on The Young and the Restless.

For a decade, actor Michael Lipton toiled on ATWT during its early days. He played a blind man, the owner of a bookstore, who could see better than any Oakdale citizen with 20/20 vision.

"We went live every single day," Lipton says. "Just as in a stage play, not a performance went by without a mistake. The fun was getting out of it."

Lipton's favorite was the time the globe on his bookstore desk literally spun out of control. "Neil was a philosophizer, so I made an analogy to the world being out of control."

In those days, Lipton explains, "soaps were not adventure stories. They dealt with life, the blows it deals and how you deal with them.

"I was a good guy, but with a secret past. Oh Lord, it has been so long I can't even remember the secret. I do know that Eileen Fulton was playing Lisa. I think she took the particulars of my past life and planned to use them against Penny, the woman I loved.

"I still catch the show from time to time. Just seeing Eileen is a hoot and Don Hastings [Bob]. When an actor left the show in those days, it was not to become a star in Hollywood, but to have time to do more stage work."

Over the years, Lipton has done movies, television and theater.

"One thing that has not changed is the feeling that you are really working as an ensemble on soaps," he says. "Yes, you get your moment, but every moment is not yours. It is a great acting lesson."

Lynda Hirsch is a columnist for Creators Syndicate. Staff and wire reports supplemented this column. Have a question or comment about soap operas? Write to Lynda Hirsch, The Soaps, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293. Questions of general interest are answered, but because of the volume received, replies do not appear for all. Letters must include signature and valid mailing address. Personal phone calls and letters of reply are not possible. To see past Hirsch columns, visit www.creators.com.